1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to waveform discrimination in general, and more particularly waveform discrimination techniques used to perform data compression.
2. Discussion
Data detection and compression circuits typically employ detector elements for converting analog responses to digital signals. These digital signals are then analyzed by some type of digital processing circuitry. The detection of peaks in the waveform can be performed by a threshold detector circuit. The only parameter normally considered by the threshold detector is the magnitude of the response signal. However, the detector will respond differently to different inputs in ways other than simple magnitude variances. If a response to a particular type of input signal is sought, then additional information besides signal magnitude is beneficial. It would be advantageous to reduce the amount of data that needs to be extensively processed by using additional signal information to determine the presence of a signal of interest. By analyzing the rates at which the waveforms rise and fall, and other signal specific information, signals of non-interest can be immediately disregarded, reducing the use of valuable computational resources. It does not appear that the prior art has proposed a solution to this problem with the simplicity of the present invention.